Glencore eyes aluminum stake

Swiss-based commodity producer and trader Glencore International plans to take a stake in Qingtongxia Aluminium, China's second largest aluminum producer, a manager at the company's Beijing office told the Financial Times Friday. The source said the companies signed a memorandum of understanding, but Qingtongxia officials said they "did not know" of any such deal. The manager said Glencore, which combines commodity trading with production operations around the world and already owns stakes in several publicly quoted mining and metals companies, would review the company's operations before deciding on the size of the stake.